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Dermot O'Brien, or, The taking of Tredagh: A tale of 1649
Dermot O'Brien or The taking of Tredagh A tale of 1649 Author:Henry William Herbert Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: V heard tell, are both!—and doubtless, Major General Jones, commander for the saints in Dublin, will give you good and ghostly counsel! But look to it, in see... more »king his advice, however ; for Ormond is without the walls, and will be apt to solve your doubts, if he lay hold on you, by giving you a rope at King Charles' expense, in reward of your trusty services !" "Faith, I am in a bad way, then," replied O Neil, with a grim smile. " For sure am I, that Jones, the Puritan, will do the same if he lay hold on me, whatever Ormond, the Catholic, may do ! ' " In a bad way thou art then !" said O'Brien, coolly ; " and very likely to be hanged, one way or other. For not Ormond only, but any true believer from Fair Head to Cape Clear, will bestow a cord on thee for old acquaintance, so surely as thy name is Hugh O Neil! Had it not been for my stumble in the river, and the bullet from thy musquetoon, I had done go myself; and thou hadst now been wavering in the wind, from yon oak tree-top, to feed that very raven which sits there, biding for the breaking of the deer. Speak, therefore, once for all ! What wilt thou have of me ? Thy presence is as a shadow in the sunlight, to the eyes of honest men ; thy very breath ia poison to my nostrils ! Take what reward thou wilt, and get thee gone. I loathe the very sight of thee, not the less that I owe thee a life !" A long pause followed, during which the young earl looked upon the other with that air of half-scornful, half-loathing curiosity with which men are wont to regard some insignificant, but venomous and hateful reptile ; while O'Neil gazed steadfastly, but gloomily, on the turf at his feet, beating the earth with his heel, as if he either felt indeed, or affected to feel, both anxiety and apprehension. ' Then, after some two or ...« less